After an update from Microsoft, it has been possible since mid-2023 that PowerPoint crashes when starting the slideshow.
This is because we cannot access certain files.
- %AppData%\Sendsteps\addincharts
- %localappdata%\sendsteps\x86 [user install]
- %programfiles%\sendsteps\x86 [admin install]
PowerPoint crashing when starting the presentation is probably caused by security settings.
We have also noticed this with other customers. What exactly is being blocked should be clear in the security center logs. MDAV and specifically an “Attack surface reduction” (ASR).)
A number of pointers we can provide are:
- An external process is used to display some slide types (including the word cloud or quiz questions). This process can be blocked by Microsoft Defender. This would then be included in the attack surface reduction rule "block all office applications from creating child processes". The process in question is "CefSharp.BrowserSubprocess.exe" and is located in the subfolder x64 or x86 in the installation folder of the Sendsteps add-in (usually %programfiles%\Sendsteps\) or %localappdata%\sendsteps\x86)
- JavaScript files are downloaded from our servers and installed locally for some chart types (including quiz and net promoter score). These may be blocked. This could be because the %AppData%\Sendsteps\addincharts folder is not writable, or because "Block office applications from creating executable content" prevents this.